Cairo -
An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced former Sunni lawmaker and prominent politician Ahmed al-Elwani to death on terrorism-related charges, Iraqi media reported.
The ruling could anger the Sunni minority in a country roiled by sectarian tensions.
The sentence by the Central Criminal Court in Baghdad may be appealed, judicial spokesman Abdel-Sattar al-Yarqadar told the independent website Alsumaria News.
The death penalty in Iraq is carried out by hanging.
Al-Elwani was convicted of inciting sectarian tensions by backing Sunni protests against the Shi’a-led government.
Al-Elwani was arrested last year in a raid on his home in the predominately Sunni western province of Anbar.
Five people, including his brother, were killed in the operation, which triggered clashes between security forces and al-Elwani's Sunni backers.
The verdict against al-Elwani comes at a time when Shiite Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who took office in September, is seeking to drum up the backing of the country's Sunni community in the fight to dislodge Islamic State militants from Iraq.
The radical Sunni group controls large swathes of territory in Iraqi's Sunni heartland in the west and north.
Government troops, backed by tribal fighters, are currently battling the Islamic State in Anbar.
The al-Qaeda splinter group also controls areas in neighbouring Syria. - Sapa-dpa